STAGE 1: (summary page)

• In 2003, Erden Eruç bicycled 5,546 miles roundtrip from Seattle to Denali (Mt. McKinley) towing all climbing gear (WHY?)
• Walked in 67 miles over glaciers to reach base camp
• Climbed 20,320 feet (6,194 meters), achieving a Sea-to-Summit climb of Denali - by human power

• Bicycled 3,980 miles from Seattle to Miami between Oct 3-Dec 25 2004, taking 82 days. The thought of leaving from Miami by rowing was abandoned after further consultations with experts, including the Ocean Rowing Society, and after the Panama Canal proved to be a barrier.
• In May 2007, Erden bicycled from Seattle to the Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon for his launch on the Pacific Ocean.
• The starting point of the Pacific row was later moved from Tiburon to Bodega Bay, which provides a more advantageous launching spot given its more westerly location. Erden bicycled from Tiburon to Bodega Bay to set the stage for departure.
• Erden will now use his ocean rowing boat to row across the Pacific to Australia. The goal of this stage will be to reach the summit of Mt. Kosciuszko, the highest point in Australia, by human power starting from Seattle. This will be the second summit on the Six Summits list.
• The Corinthian Yacht Club in Tiburon is the starting point of Erden's human powered circumnavigation.

Dispatches are on our home page, progress charts available from the buttons in the upper right corner of the same.

PRIOR SUCCESS:

On sabbatical from the Six Summits Project, Erden Eruç rowed alone from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to the island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean Sea. The row had started in Lisbon as a pair, arriving at Las Palmas on December 11, 2005. The solo Atlantic crossing time of 92 days which began on January 29, 2006 in Las Palmas, put Erden into the Caribbean Sea on May 2. On May 5, Erden made landfall at the island of Guadeloupe. With this solo crossing from the Canaries to Guadeloupe, Erden became the 33rd person in history to row across the Atlantic East to West single-handed.

We hope that you followed along:
  92 days across the Atlantic solo from Canary Islands, landfall at Guadeloupe on day 96!!!
Reports from the boat -- Reported Location
Ocean Rowing Society -- Home Page -- Maps by ARGOS Beacon

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Why are we doing this?

We are in the business of realizing dreams, and helping others achieve theirs.

There are dreams that never go away. They live inside us. We learn to live with them. We tuck them away. We try to ignore them. We have commitments in the city. We feel guilty to even consider those dreams. Sometimes we indulge, lifting our eyes off the pages of a magazine with colorful pictures, and gaze into the distance. These dreams most often define the true individual inside us that wants to come alive.

Why is it that we accept as final our boundaries, and never reach beyond them? Is it because, as we grew up, we were told "to get real," or "to come down to earth" enough times that we are now set in our ways?

We are on this journey together to tell young students that dreams are possible with due diligence. We want to show them that they too can realize their dreams if they keep a positive outlook for life, seek proper advice and decide to take the necessary steps forward. We want to demonstrate that with collaboration comes understanding, and with understanding comes peace, which brings out the beauty in humanity.

But still: why take on such a long and demanding journey just to make that point? And why the summits?

One such dream was the path that Erden Eruç traced on a world map at his workplace in 1997. The path defined a human powered journey around the northern hemisphere. It was one that sparked years of research and planning which evolved over time. When Erden met Göran Kropp, there was mutual excitement about the possibilities, and Göran offered encouragement while affirming Erden's dream. An unfortunate accident while rock climbing together led to Göran's death, and Erden decided to start his human powered journey around the world. To honor Göran's spirit, Erden's journey now includes reaching the highest summit on each of six consecutive continents along the way. He will touch these "from the sea to the summit" after approaching them by human power. The route has now evolved into a true circumnavigation.

The goal of Around-n-Over is to motivate and to educate students in elementary and middle schools. We have offered presentations which engaged the students, covering goal setting, realizing dreams, overcoming obstacles, and dealing with tragedy while using the journey as the backdrop. We have offered sessions with high school students where career choices, technology applications to adventure, business aspects of our project were the topics of discussion.

Our goal has been to remain environmentally conscious in our journey and in our presentations to empower the children with the skills to carry themselves responsibly in life and on their own mini-expeditions into the outdoors. Supporting the Bishwa Darshan Primary School in Nepal is our legacy goal which will be an ongoing consideration. In the long run, we will become enablers, helping other adventurers to achieve their dreams, which will keep the inspirational stories in front of children.